


The Northern Stars

by soloratiste



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Animal Death, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Fan Characters, Gen, Major Illness, violence warning is for later development btw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-02 06:05:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16781125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soloratiste/pseuds/soloratiste
Summary: In a land far north, where the winters are harsher and summers colder, three clans have united under The Union, formed by the leader of SeaClan. United with Light- and PineClan, peace is shattered when a tragic event happens.Will a cat who has barely had the chance to be a warrior, suddenly thrust into role as deputy, be able to serve his duties well, or will he lead to the downfall of all clan-cats? Can he correct the errors of those who came before him before it's too late?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, if you've clicked on this story and read the prologue: Thank you!
> 
> I can't promise when I'll update but I'll try to get into the swing of things ASAP, and to not leave people hanging.  
> If you want to ask me stuff or keep an eye on updates, follow me on twitter at @soloratiste

_**Harsh and cold was the dry, winter air** , awaking any creature with a jolt if they sucked the air into their lungs. Such was every winter night when one had settled by the ocean._

Perhaps the trees of the dense pine forest, half a day's travel away, shielded well these cold winds. Then again, that would mean those who lived in the comfort of the creaking pines would never know how to live, should the conditions ever grow harsher and the winds less merciful.

The wet sand clumping together into small lumps were still soft enough to squish, so there were still a little more time before snow would begin to fall from the skies. Alas, the wet sand was still cold, but not enough to breach the fur of the cats who claimed it as their home.

The leader of those cats, and currently the leader of all cats who called themselves members of a clan, sat patiently as the wind bristled through her silky fur. Whitestar was used to waiting as long as she needed to, as she enjoyed being the first one in place for any meeting she might have been invited to, or called for herself.

This time it was an invitation. A self-appointed deputy to the group, former clan, of PineClan. She had well an idea of what he wanted, assuming from the remote location and late time for the meeting. She knew he didn't want his clanmates to see him weak, especially not begging.

Whitestar brushed her tail across the leaves though. Despite the aching sensation in her front- and hind legs from the cold, she was a leader of stone. It wouldn't do Sharptongue well to put his pride over the well-being of his clan.

However she knew that was well in their blood too. She'd grin and bear it as always and listen to his demands for the time being.

Dead leaves rustled loudly from the branches they had yet to fall off of, but Whitestar didn't turn her attention to it. Keeping a still posture, she simply moved her tail and allowed the company to make himself comfortable.

"Hope you haven't waited for too long," he excused himself and stepped into the clearing, his paw-steps careful to prevent too much noise from his side.

"Nonsense," Whitestar mewed calmly, with no clear tone in her voice, "You of all cats would know that I appreciate some quiet before a meeting."

He made his way over to move the leaves slightly, before sitting down gently. His green eyes turned to gaze at her sky-blue ones, though disappointment clearly emitted from his gaze when hers showed nothing but mere boredom.

"Why do you even agree to meet me if I bore you so much?"

"A fair leader must listen to their clan, Sharptongue."

His head slouched down slightly, and he turned away with a minor scowl, "Sitting down and simply hearing me speak is hardly the same as caring to listen."

Her tail brushed harshly, jolting to her side as she covered her paws with its dense, long fur. She turned her head to the skies, "Why do you keep coming to me with the same request. I've spoken my mind several times."

"Maybe I keep coming back because I believe that you'd eventually try to understand me," he spat and jolted his head upwards, "I care about PineClan, and I want what is best for us."

"You think I don't? That I think you're worthless?"

"No, but--"

"Sharptongue, PineClan requested to live on your own territory in this union, I allowed you to. You requested that you still be referred to as your own clan, I allowed you to. You've requested that _you_ can still serve as a leader-figure in your clan, and you _are,"_ Whitestar hissed, puffing up her chest as she padded toward the other cat, with him backing up ever so slightly.

"I've allowed PineClan to do _exactly_ as you please, but it's not good enough just because you aren't permitted to govern and rule as _you_ wish?"

Sharptongue held his breath. His claws dug into the sand as his face had scrunched up into a grimace, but he dared not to say another word to the leader.

She relaxed her posture slightly more and backed away from the spiky-tufted gray-furred tom. Letting out a sigh, she shivered slightly in the cold of the night, before murmuring a question, "Do you have anything _else_ to demand from me?"

The wind whistled in the trees, and shook the dead leaves off from the branches of those that were not evergreens. The nearby sound of waves gently crashing onto the shore grew deafening compared to the silence between the two cats.

"One day," he whispered, "When you are no longer leader, PineClan will be free. We will be happy again."

"You will be the next leader then?"

"Yes."

"How happy will they be, then?"

Whitestar waited, wondering how he would answer back, but the only answer she received was the less-than-careful crunching and snapping of dried, dead leaves and twigs.

She let out a sigh and turned her gaze back to the winter sky. Stars twinkling like the moon shone into the cold water of the lake. Few of them danced across for barely a second, quicker than she could blink, so she decided to keep her eyes open for as long as she could.

For a moment, she was at peace again. Then, harsh reality set in as the ache in her very bones painfully clawed at her and forced her away from the dreamy state she'd almost achieved.

"...How much longer until I will be dancing in the sky like you?" she mewed bitterly, whilst her eyes slowly slid away from the twinkling stars and back to the black sea.

She stared down as small paw-marks in the soft sand, and made her way toward them, wandering the opposite direction of where they were facing. Perhaps if she walked slower, the walk would not be as painful going back to camp.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Slumbering cats, their mews and small breaths calmed the leader down. The group of her native SeaClan- and the assimilated LightClan cats were practically inseparable in the mass of cats that rested close to each other.

Whitestar purred with joy as she passed by each of the dens. Though she couldn't see into all of them, she could feel each of them. As she wandered through the empty clearing, she listened to the silence and calm of the night.

Her own den was not far from the other cats, but she wanted to spend some time just observing the slumbering cats. A part of her didn't feel like going to sleep just yet.

Well... No cat _was_ awake but her and the few warriors who stood guard near the nursery, so she might as well take the time to just look around. She never had the time to do that anymore.

Now that she was thinking about the nursery, she decided to visit the place, though she'd be quiet around them. The day earlier had been hectic for the caretakers as there was some confusion about one of them having her mate come to visit, the issue having been that the guards were new to the task and did not recognize him.

She purred with amusement as the sight of the black-and-white rogue cat, usually confident in his stride, had looked like a scared kitten being scolded by the new guards, while his mate struggled to barge in to correct the error.

Padding toward the hollow log that served as an entrance to the semi-isolated cave-in in the cliff, she gave a single nod to the guards who were barely awake. She climbed inside the log carefully and wandered to the other side of it. Peeking her head out, she could barely tell the bodies of caretakers from one-another.

Though in the tiny ray of moonlight that shone through the shrubbery above, she could find the exact queen whose mate was the rogue in trouble earlier.

Echoflight, a rather young but still mature molly, slept calmly with her tail gently covering her belly. Whitestar had kept her eye on the caretaker and predicted that it wouldn't be much longer before her kits would be born.

Though the only reason Whitestar knew her specifically more than other caretakers was Echoflight's friendship to her own son, Wolfsong, though she did note they weren't as close as they used to be.

Perhaps that's just what becoming a mother does to one, she wondered, as she backed out of the log to leave the caretakers' den. She remembered becoming quite protective and reclusive herself when Wolfsong had been born, but then again, she was never the most social of cats.

Leaving the outskirts of the territory where the caretakers were being guarded, she found the slightly hidden path upwards on the cliff to make her way back to her own den. She was rather exhausted at this point, so she'd decided it was about time for her to go rest as well.

The bushes bristled as her fur slid through them, though no fur clumped into the thorny branches at the end of it. She purred with pride, as it meant she was keeping her fur quite well recently.

Her den, sitting beyond a twisted tree that somehow had been damaged in a storm, allowing it to become a ladder of sorts into a bush with strong, thick branches and dense leaves, allowing cats to climb on top of it so it could be used for meetings, as well as to sleep beneath it and being decently covered during storms and snowy weather.

Making her way into the tree trunk's opening, she saw the pale fur of her heir resting calmly by the foot of the bush. For a moment, she purred with joy and rested her nose into him...

But then the sharp pain of her aching bones shot into her again, as she winced and crouched down. Joy turned to sorrow, and she looked at her son with hesitation.

_"When you are no longer leader, PineClan will be free. We will be happy again."_

Sharptongue's voice echoed, as if he were standing just beside her and whispering in her ears. She hunched over slightly, her gaze not leaving her slumbering son.

Gently, she brushed her tail over his face. Pain jolted through her again, but she paid no mind to it. It was just another one of her anxieties now, bubbling together into a mess that she could no longer contain.

"My son," she murmured with a pang of sorrow. She closed her eyes and turned away from him.

"I fear Sharptongue will eat you alive."


	2. Sun

The warm breeze of midsummer whistled gently through the overhead brambles and left small drops of the brief rain that had fallen during the night to drip down from the leaves and onto the heads of the slumbering apprentices below. In the distance the shoreline was less deafening than it usually was, even during this season where winds were harsh on the ocean.

Nevertheless, Sun's fur bristled, and he shivered slightly, unwilling to get up just to be forced into morning training. Nothing seemed to work to get him out of it the other mornings he had attempted to sleep longer. Fake sniffles, kitten eyes, sore paws, nothing worked. His mentor just saw through it each time and forced him up anyways.

Regardless, he was too groggy to get up on his own. If he was going to be forced to wake up early anyhow, he might as well enjoy the brief moment of relief he had resting into his cozy nest for as long as that could last. He closed his eyes yet again, his vision slightly blurry from exhaustion.

For a moment he was calm, blissful even. It felt like he could go right on back to sleep, but of course his whiskers twitched a slight warning before he heard her call on him--

"Sun, wake up. It's an important morning," the giant golden-ginger tabby she cat stood at the entrance, blocking out the sun so the slight silver shimmer of her tabby stripes stood out more than usual.

Sun groaned, and got to his paws, "I'm up-- What's so important? More training?"

Silverflame purred slightly, before turning around with a gesture of the tail, "No."

"Huh...? No training?"

"That's what I said."

"No, you said no."

The mentor turned around with an unamused look on her face, though the apprentice didn't regret his sass. She sighed and sat down whilst looking him directly in the eyes.

" **You** are going on your first patrol."

Sun's eyes suddenly lit up, as his tail raised up toward the sky with his ears following closely. With wide eyes, he suddenly began looking around frantically, as if he were searching the faces of all the other clan cats to find a grin meant for him. When he found none, he felt secure enough to assume her words to be genuine.

"You mean it? A patrol? Where are we going?"

Silverflame's head raised slightly, "Oh now you're interested. Yes, all apprentices get to go on a patrol once they've been training for at least one moon."

"Wow, it's already been that long?"

"Time does fly, doesn't it?" she purred with amusement, "Anyhow, I haven't picked where we patrol today. I assumed I'd let you pick where we s--"

" _The pine border!!!"_ the young ginger tabby exclaimed.

The older cat faked a sigh as she looked at him with a gentle, but playful gaze. "Oh, I should've guessed," she remarked with a hint of sarcasm.

Before he could say any more, his mentor began leading the way out of the camp. She gestured for him to stay back for a moment as she spoke to Whitestar. Only a few seconds later, both cats turned toward him with a nod, before the leader padded away from Silverflame, who then called upon Sun to follow her.

"We're all set to go, come on. If we're early we might see the PineClan cats wandering about."

"Those guys? I think they're kind of stupid."

Forcing back a snicker, his mentor continued, "Woah, what makes you say that?"

"We're in a union, right?"

"Right."

"So, why don't they live on our territory? LightClan does!"

"Well," Silverflame started, her voice trailing slightly as she gathered her train of thought, "PineClan are proud cats. They have plenty of old traditions they fear would be forgotten in a union."

"Is that all?"

"No, but it's all I'm sure about. Perhaps they just prefer to be by themselves, but just think that being in the union is good idea regardless?"

"I thought that mean Sharptongue hated the union," Sun questioned with a tilted head.

"What does a loud-mouthed know-it-all from the pines even matter, Sun? Let's stop talking about him, how about the pine border; Do you think we'll meet Dune there?"

Sun didn't respond. He thought for a quick moment, still following his mentor, but then simply muttered a meek, "I don't know."

Silverflame scoffed slightly, "You don't think she's going to be there? Hollow-wing told me she left to visit Copper last night."

"Well I don't know if she's going to be there _when_ we get there, but maybe she'll be?"

"...Sun, please, I know why you want to go to the pine border," she mewed, "You want to see Copper too."

"...I do..."

Silverflame then stopped, and turned around to face him. Her expression wasn't disproving or judging in the slightest, but the confusion on her face was as clear as the droplets of rain left by the tiny cloud that'd passed over the night before.

"Why didn't you go with her then?" she asked with a tone even more extreme with confusion than her expression.

"I don't like the land beyond the borders when it's dark!"

"It's summer, Sun. The sun sets late, it's practically only dark for a heartbeat at this point."

"..."

Her head tilted slightly. Sun fiddled with his paws as his tail swishes about, and he dipped his head ever so slightly.

"I...-" he mewed, "...didn't want to be far away from Echoflight."

The fluttering of a passing bird roared like thunder in the silence that fell between the two cats. Then, piercing like the fluttering of bird-wings, Silverflame couldn't contain her laughter.

Her laughter wasn't mocking, but she wasn't exactly laughing with Sun either. It was the kind of laughing he remembered the other caretakers making during his time in the nursery. He mostly remembered it because of the time he ran crying to his mother because he'd crushed a snail while playing with it, mistakenly thinking it to be empty.

"Wow, Sun! I did expect that you would eventually take after one of your mother's littermates, but I'd hoped that it would've been _me_!"

His head perked up slightly, "What do you mean?"

She shook her head slightly and used her tail to gesture for him to begin walking again, "Littlefang was inseparable from our mother too back when he was an apprentice."

"Really? I thought he was always a big brave warrior!"

"We're talking about _Littlefang_ , not me," she joked with a purr and slowly began picking up the pace as the two neared some taller grass, with the sound of the ocean finally having fully faded from earshot.

As the tall grass gently brushed against them, Sun made notice of how wet his paws and fur were getting. For as short a time it'd been raining, the ground sure did get wet. He just hoped he could dry off before finding either Dune by the pine border, or his fellow apprentices upon returning. He didn't feel like hearing more comments about how he looked like a ragged squirrel again.

Well, that or hopefully the water was only droplets and his fur would be nothing more than slightly misty. Still better than soaking.

After a while of some uneventful navigating through the tall grass, it finally seemed to Sun like the two cats were getting closer to the pine border.

Oak trees slowly seemed to be overturned by the sharp evergreens, and the sky opened up more and more when the branches of the non-needle trees became fewer and fewer overhead. The apprentice felt it was finally appropriate to pick up the pace, he'd grown tired of the careful pacing at this point.

After all, what was the point of sneaking near the border to PineClan anymore? They were a union! It didn't matter why they were close by, they didn't need to sneak about as if they weren't welcome.

Silverflame kept a low profile and didn't scurry off, though, she made no attempts to stop Sun from doing so either. So he hurried off ahead of her, though he didn't stray far enough away to lose track of his mentor. He was still recovering from the verbal consequences of _last_ time he got too far away from her.

When he eventually caught the fresh scent of the clear water in a bubbling creek, his pace slowed down for a brief moment before he stopped completely. Trying to find his balance, he shakily rested his lower body and hind legs into the firm bit of dirt he had found in the mass of mud under the tall grass. He then lifted himself up so he stood, even if just barely, on his hind legs until he could see his surroundings clearly past the greenery.

In the distance he could spot their destination. A slightly broad, but very shallow stream of water surrounded by pine trees and other greenery, towering high above the flat landscape. No hills in sight, allowing the peculiar paths, made by twolegs, out of crushed small rocks that stood in large contrast to the vibrant grass.

Suddenly, Sun felt a shove on his backside. He was caught off guard, so it was only just by the tip of his whiskers that he managed to catch himself before he could slam into the sloppy mud.

He let out a hiss and turned around, scowling, as he saw the smug and amused look given to him by his mentor.

"You look like a rabbit when you sit like that," she mewed. "The birds are going to think you're prey."

"What kind of rabbit is red?"

"A delicious one, I'll bet."

"I'm not delicious!" Sun protested, puffing his chest up.

"Yes, you're probably right," Silverflame teased, giving him a slight nudge with her nose to push him on forward, "I wouldn't want a giant ball of fur with _my_ prey."

"Yeah, obviously. That sounds really gross," he commented, before trying to imagine what it'd be like to eat a cat as fluffy as himself. Only a second passed before he expressed his disgust at the idea and decided to never imagine anything like that ever again.

Picking up his pace again, Sun decided to bolt on ahead to get out of the tall grass, which he had grown pretty tired of wandering through. Luckily for him it was only a few paw-steps more before he emerged from the soft, misty blades of grass and was finally able to shake the small droplets off of him.

The grass behind him rustled silently as his mentor slowly wandered after him, emerging without making a sound. She slowly padded to his side, before demanding his attention with the flick of her tail.

"You need to be more quiet when you leave the tall grass."

Sun looked at her and tilted his head slightly, flicking one of his ears. "Why? We're still on clan territory."

"...Sun, what was the first thing I told you when I began training with you?" she asked with a small sigh.

"Um," he stopped to think, giving his own tail a little flick, "To... Not play with snail shells?"

"Why would I...? No, that was _Echoflight_ , Sun!" she exclaimed, though she stumbled slightly in her words, "Come on, one more try. Guess it right or else I'll make you get up even _earlier_ to train."

Sun froze, swallowing a little lump in his throat. He did _not_ want to do that. He hesitated a little more with giving an answer that time.

"...You said ' _treat everything I tell you as the real thing'_?"

The golden molly nodded, "Yes, exactly."

The apprentice looked down at his paws for a moment, before looking back to the older cat. He tilted his head slightly, about to speak, before she cut him off and continued.

"If you treat my training as just an excuse to play and mess around, you won't become a good warrior. Everything I'm telling you is because I want you to take it to heart, and to take it seriously," she paused to take a slight breath, and raised her head up to look around the clearing, "No matter how silly it seems, everything I'm doing _is_ to help you grow strong, Sun."

Sun didn't respond. Instead he followed her lead and began scanning the surrounding areas as well, even giving a few sniffs to see if he could catch any familiar- or unfamilar scents.

"I care about both you and _Echoflight_. I care about Dune too, but she's not my responsibility now. If I didn't give my all to making sure you become the best cat you can be, I would not only be disappointing you and my littermate,"

Dipping her head slightly to meet yet again with Sun's eyes, she finished her words firmly, yet also soft-spoken, "...I would be disappointing myself too."

He wasn't sure how to respond. He wasn't aware that it meant so much for her to be his mentor, especially when the two always were very different from one-another. Silverflame was the big, tough but also slightly immature warrior who any apprentice would _kill_ to have as their mentor, yet her apprentice became him: a cat that everybody in the clan thought was too sensitive and emotional for his own good.

Then again, maybe it was a good thing. Someone as strong as Silverflame might change him, and teach him how to be a stronger cat. She sure seemed like she was trying to do that with how she always seemed to push him on, even beyond his limits, but he also felt that sometimes she could do better with listening to him and understanding that some of his limits he just couldn't overcome.

Lost in thought, Sun stopped paying attention to his surroundings. Of course Silverflame noticed that, and nudged him back to reality with a gentle shove with her flank.

"Don't think _that_ hard about it, kitten. Just promise to do what I ask you to, alright?"

Taking a deep breath, he puffed out his chest with confidence, "Right! I promise!"

"That's good," she purred, brushing him with her tail, "Now pay attention, Sun, because we have visitors."

Sun's chest flattened quickly, and his head snapped in the direction his mentor was pointing to with her nuzzle. Just outside some dense thickets on the other side of the wide stream, two cats were approaching them quickly.

His paws were aching for him to run after them, so much so he quickly got up on all fours again. Frantically looking back and forth between the two and his mentor, he felt like he was just a heartbeat away from verbally wailing in distress.

Silverflame snickered and rolled her eyes, nudging him with her paw, "Show me how fast you can run, kitten!"

No more needed to be said. He stormed off in the blink of an eye, his paws creating deep dents in the soft water-soaked and moss-covered grass with the power put into pulling himself ahead as quickly as he could.

It was then that one of the two cats did the same, and began running toward him, though Sun's steps could not match the speed of the other's. Then, once close enough, the other cat leapt into the air and tackled the young apprentice to the ground.

The two cats rolled about in the mushy dirt, pushing and pulling with their paws, though no blood was drawn as they kept their claws sheathed and away from one-another.

The brief sparring ended just a few moments later, when the other cat overpowered Sun and laid him flat on his back, with a paw pressed onto him.

"Dune, don't get so rough with your brother!"

Both cats' attention was then drawn in the direction of the voice. Dune was then pulled off by the older cat who'd accompanied her, before he lifted Sun up by the scruff to help him back on his paws.

The ginger apprentice began to groom himself to get rid of some clumps of dirt that had gotten in his fur, but to no avail as he let out a disgusted cry, sticking his tongue out, at the taste of the dirt in his fur.

His littermate let out a snicker with barely any attempt to silence herself. In retaliation, Sun clawed out some of the mud on the ground and smeared it onto her pelt.

The older cat let out a sigh, and turned his gaze away from the two. Just nearby, Silverflame was finally making her way toward the group with an entertained demeanor.

"Oh Copper, they're just playing rough with each other. Don't you rogues do that with your littermates?" she mewed with amusement, though kept a slight distance from the three other cats.

Copper's whiskers twitched, as he stepped in between the two littermates before one could tackle the other, clearly unwilling to try to mediate _any_ fights at the moment.

"Not all of us do, and considering I'm their _father_ , I think I have the right to not want my kits to claw each other's fur out just for fun!" he hissed out, snapping his head down to the quarreling siblings.

Both cats instantly bowed their heads down, looking away from both one-another, as well as their father.

Silverflame rolled her eyes slightly, and pulled her apprentice back to her side by the scruff, "Oh Copper, what happened to the admirably tough rogue my littermate fell tail-over-paws for?"

"He got _smarter_ ," he half-jokingly responded in a dry, yet snarky manner.

"Sure, if _that's_ what you want to call it," the golden tabby molly meowed with a slight chuckling purr.

"Nevermind that," he padded closer to Sun, "Why are the two of you here? I've told Whitestar I'll personally escort Dune back home whenever she wants to visit me."

Sun's ears twitched, and for a moment his nose perked up, but as he was about to say something he suddenly hesitated and turned his gaze back to the ground. His tail would wrap around his paws if it were long enough, but it could only reach his hind-legs.

Copper's gaze was focused on his son. Eventually he let out a sigh with a barely audible 'oh', as he chuckled warmly whilst shaking his head slightly. Sun didn't say anything, though he was slightly embarrassed that his father understood him when he wasn't even saying anything.

"Right," the older tom gave his son some space and turned instead to the mentor, "How did you get the leader to let you train all the way out here?"

The young apprentice still didn't respond, but it didn't seem like Silverflame was going to respond for him either. Rather it seemed she was waiting for him to say something, though to no avail as he still refused to say anything.

It was Dune, who made her way back into the conversation after a while, who broke the silence. Perking her ears up, she let out a gasp and jumped over to the others, while mewing with glee, "Whitestar wouldn't let any cat train out here! They're on a patrol!!!"

Sun slowly tilted his head back up to finally get eye contact with the others. Copper's eyes jolted back and forth between him and his littermate as his gesture showing a curious expectation. He decided to give in already, it wasn't like he'd ever won the silence game with his father anyways.

"...Yes, we're on a patrol..." Sun mewed meekly.

"Really? That's great, Sun! Wow- Only one moon-skip and you're already out and about with doing the big-cat stuff!" the tom yowled gleefully, and nudged the ginger apprentice gently with his muzzle.

Though when the apprentice still didn't talk as much as he had done before, he lowered his voice and spoke softly, "Hey hey- Don't be embarrassed because you wanted to go find us on your patrol. I'm glad you came."

"Really?" Sun mewed with a bit of a squeak.

"Of course," Copper purred, briefly gazing at Dune before looking back to him, "Your sister visits me a lot more than you do. Don't you think I miss seeing you too?"

The young apprentice didn't know how to respond. He fell silent yet again, looking to his side with a slight feeling of guilt in his heart. He had no idea that he was upsetting his father by never visiting! Besides, he _would_ visit, but he was busy with being an apprentice now!

...Well, that and the outside of camp was pretty scary when Echoflight didn't have time to walk with him. Sure, Silverflame was a great mentor, but she didn't exactly go soft on him like his mother did...

"Maybe," Dune began to speak, which snapped Sun out of his little train of thought he'd briefly gotten lost in,"...You could visit camp?"

Copper's head tilted slightly, "Visit camp?"

"You did that when we were in the nursery! You can just come visit us again, right? Echofligt would be happy if you came..."

Sun listened to his littermate. She had a point, Copper did use to visit them when they were just kittens, but when they both became apprentices it suddenly changed. When they were in the nursery, they were the only kits allowed to leave camp because of their rogue father, though that was because they had a patrol and their mother to accompany them... But even then, it was mostly Copper coming to SeaClan's camp, not them leaving camp to visit him!

And Echoflight... Well, she was much too busy to leave camp. She was now the only caretaker who wasn't looking after her own kits in the nursery, so she had a lot more responsibility to ensure the other caretakers and their kits were healthy and comfortable! Whenever a kit or their caretaker got sick, it was her duty to ensure it didn't spread or harm any cats in the nursery.

Lately, Echoflight was especially busy. It was sneeze-dust season, and a lot of cats were affected by it. She had to figure out who was sneezing because of sneeze-dust, and who was sneezing because they were getting sick, and Sun could only imagine how hard it was for just one cat to take care of several others.

The older tom paused. Sheepishly, he chuckled and let his tail swish across the ground, brushing dirt and mud up, browning his otherwise decently clean black-and-white fur.

"Well... I... I don't visit anymore because," he spoke with slight hesitation. It took him a few seconds of silence, before he swallowed a lump in his throat, and finally confessed,

"I'm not allowed to visit you. Not as long as you're apprentices."

Both of the apprentices froze. Bewildered, they stared with open maws and wide eyes at their father, disbelief practically exploding out of Dune.

Copper's ears drooped so low they almost vanished in the long fur around his scruff and the back of his head. Though there was a slight wrinkle on his nose, and his paws twitched with his claws peaking out of their sheaths, he was still as a rock.

The only things emitting any sounds were the crows overhead, flying by and calling on the others in the forest nearby. Otherwise the leaves and grass bristled as usual.

"...Why?" Dune's voice shook, though she spoke harshly.

The tom sighed, "...Wolfsong doesn't like--" he stopped abruptly, pausing as if to collect his thoughts. Letting out a nervous chuckle, he continued, " _Rogues_ ," though with an odd hesitation upon saying that word, as if he were insecure about what he said.

"That's dumb," the younger molly groaned and rolled her eyes, clawing at some clumps of moss and mud below her.

Sun had nothing to add, sitting in silence more-so to process what he'd just been told. Then again, all he had to think was summed up perfectly by Dune... That _was_ dumb.

"Yeah, but there's not much I can do about that. Wolfsong is your clan's next leader, so you need to learn to respect his words," Copper spoke with a sigh, turning his gaze away, "...and if I want what's best for you, that means I have to as well."

Yet again, silence fell between the group. None were quite sure what to even say... Copper was right, Wolfsong _was_ going to be the next leader, but that doesn't mean that they had to like how he was keeping their family apart.

The rogue let out a shaky laughter before raising his head up again, ears following after. "Well, nevermind that. We'll make do, won't we?" he mewed aloud, though with a hint of confidence that seemed less than genuine. Perhaps it only seemed that way from being soured by the previous conversation.

Both apprentices nodded, putting on a more confident and cheerful face like their father. Sun stood up at last, deciding to try to clear his head a little. After all, Copper promised that they'd be okay, and there was no real reason to mistrust him.

Copper's tail began swishing again, as he puffed out his chest and gave a simple nod to Silverflame, who'd been keeping her distance from the conversation in silence.

"Right! Now I think I've taken enough time," he stretched out slightly. Padding over to Sun, he touched muzzles with his son, "You've got a patrol to get back to."

Then he turned to Dune. With a playful shove of the tail, he nudged her to her littermate as well, "And Dune, you have a clan to return to. I'll bet your mentor wants you to get hunting after your trip with me."

"Aw, but Sun gets to be on a patrol!" she mumbled, padding slowly toward the clan cats.

"Sun also didn't go on a trip," he pointed out.

Dune's ears drooped slightly, as she spoke a very faint agreement, though mostly in a moping way. She finally got to Silverflame's side, standing opposite to her littermate.

The mentor leaned in closely to the young molly, whispering to her, "I'll ask Hollow-wing to let you patrol tomorrow."

Her head perked up slightly. Nodding to the mentor, she cheered up significantly and stood a little taller than before.

With everything said and done, and every farewell needed having been spoken, Copper let out a tiny purr and turned the opposite direction and began walking back toward the way he'd arrived with Dune. Then, a moment later, he sprinted off across the stones on the stream, before vanishing back into the foliage of the little part of the forest in No-Clan's Field.

"Right then," Silverflame spoke out once the three were on their own, beginning to head back toward the tall grass, "The sun's barely risen in the sky, so let's get right back on track."

Dune took the lead and stormed straight ahead to the entrance of the tall grass. Her tortoiseshell pelt stood out like a raven in winter snow when she stood next to the vibrant green blades.

"Can't I just go back on my own? I can find camp easily, and I don't want to ruin Sun's patrol by making it an escort," she asked, turning her head back to the cats behind her.

"If you promise to stick to the path, and to not get distracted by anything," the older molly responded.

"I won't."

"Alright, off you go then."

The tortoiseshell apprentice thanked the older cat, and hurried off into the grass. The blades waved in a rapid way, clearly giving away where she was.

Then, Silverflame nudged her apprentice slightly. A playful suggestion, she leaned close and spoke, "Hey, wanna learn something that'll make all the other apprentices jealous?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, then tilted his head slightly, "What is it?"

She sat down in the dirt again, gesturing her tail toward the grass while turning her head to look in that direction as well.

"Chasing cats."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Okay so...
> 
> This was a little longer than I expected to write it.  
> Whoops! Anyhow hope you liked this chapter, I'm not used to writing this much text.
> 
> I tried to balance it well between descriptions and dialogue and such.


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